BANGKOK, Aug 4 (Reuters) - Indonesian stocks inched lower on
Monday as weak trade data for the second quarter dented
sentiment while the Philippine index was near a one-month high,
with strong quarterly earnings boosting shares of SM Prime
Holdings.
Data showed Indonesia's trade balance swung back into a
deficit in April-June after a surplus in the first quarter, a
reminder that the country's sizable current account deficit is
one of a raft of economic problems the new president will face.
Jakarta's Composite Index edged down 0.03 percent
amid active selling in big-cap stocks, including Bank Rakyat
Indonesia and Bank Mandiri. It earlier rose
modestly on resuming trade after a market holiday last week.
Shares showed a mixed performance across exchanges in the
reporting season.
Indonesian pharmaceutical firm Kalbe Farma dropped
4 percent, with trading volume at 3.13 times the 30-day average,
after it reported weaker-than-expected quarterly earnings,
prompting an earnings downgrade.
"Due to weaker sales and margins as well as interest costs,
KLBF's second-quarter 2014 net profit of 500 billion rupiah was
13 percent below our estimate," broker Bahana Securities said in
a report.
In Manila, shares of property developer SM Prime Holdings
jumped nearly 4 percent after it reported a 12 percent increase
in net income for the three months ended June, outperforming the
broader index which rose 1.5 percent.
In Singapore, shares of DBS Group Holdings eased
0.9 percent, leading the benchmark Straits Times Index
lower. The stock had hit its highest since December 2007 on
Friday after better-than-expected quarterly
earnings.
In Bangkok, the key index was up 0.9 percent led by
index heavyweights such as PTT and Bangkok Bank
. Bargain-hunting emerged after a nearly 3 percent loss
in the index last week.
"Local investor sentiment should improve this week as
valuations of SET are less stretched after last week's sharp
correction," said broker KGI Securities in a report.
Malaysia and Vietnam traded in positive
territory while MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares
outside Japan managed to gain 0.4 percent,
largely as Chinese shares continued to rally.
For Asian Companies click;
For South East Asia Hot Stock reports, click;
SOUTHEAST ASIAN STOCK MARKETS
Change at 0746 GMT
Market Current Prev Close Pct Move
TR SE Asia Index* 438.61 436.41 +0.50
Singapore 3317.26 3344.42 -0.80
Kuala Lumpur 1874.74 1863.34 +0.61
Bangkok 1513.36 1500.20 +0.88
Jakarta 5087.90 5088.80 -0.03
Manila 6998.37 6894.23 +1.51
Ho Chi Minh 599.04 593.90 +0.87
* The Thomson Reuters South East Asia Index is a
highly representative indicator of stocks listed in Indonesia,
Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
(Reporting by Viparat Jantraprap; Editing by Sunil Nair)